lighting

[Patr1ck]

Is there a difference in 100W of 6700k normal output bulbs vs. 100W of 6700k power compact or high output bulbs?:confused:

Thanks,
Pat

[KDodds]

Absolutely. Wattage is only a measure of power used. More efficient bulbs use less wattage to produce more intensity/PAR/lumens. Compact fluorescents produce more light per watt than T8 or T12 bulbs, T5s produce more light per watt than CFs. Metal halides produce CRAZY amounts of light, and PAR, watt for watt, but recent data suggests that some MH lighting may actually be producing too much for many tanks, given the same standard 12 hour photoperiod.

[Mr Wild]

Good lord! What did you say? Ok I am a complete wattage numpty, so pass it by me slowly please. I have a 325litre 6 foot planted tank with anubias and some amazon swords. What light would I need? Please keep it simple!

Cheers Kath

[KDodds]

Depth has an effect, but being that you're probably not more than 45-60cm deep, I'd say 2 54W T5s per side should work very well for a low tech set up. If you plan on something more (CO2, daily ferts, etc.) you'd have to up that a bit, doubling or tripling the lamps. CFs have very poor depth penetration, but are fine for low light plants (like Anubias). Then again, you have some real old-timers, like my father-in-law, who've kept swords in deep tanks with only NO lighting, albeit 4 tank-length bulbs instead of the standard (at the time) one.

[Mr Wild]

At the moment I have an aquaone flurescent that is 4foot and I just centre it. I do not want to go CO2 I am a KISS kind of person.

So will these bulbs fit into the light I have now? Kath

[KDodds]

No. Most fixtures nowadays will use T8 and T12 lamps interchangeably. But, CFs and T5s require different ballasts and/or connectors. How long have you had the plants in? Are they growing or showing signs of new growth?

[Mr Wild]

Yes ! The anubias flower and have new leaves but I always end up with dead amazons. I use 1 capful of seachem flourish a week. By now I am sure I can hear you LOL and ROFLYAO but as you can see I am not into lighting although I would like to understand it more to assist my plants and of course my fish.

2 54W T5s per side should work very well for a low tech set up
Ok so what does this mean? I actually ask for a light that has 2 tubes of t%s that are 54W each, is that right?
Gawd this is like learning another language! Thanks for your patience!

[Mr Wild]

Got this off the web.

T5 lamps yield the highest lumens per watt of any fluoresent lamps

T5 TUBES
* Increased Power
* Increased Intensity
* Increased Penetration

So what is a T5 tube?
Basically we see for sale 3 types of tubes, T8 which is the standard 1 inch tube most commonly used, T12 which is what is known as the 1.5 inch (fat) tube and T5 which is the five eights of an inch tube. So the number attached to the T is only the diameter of the tube.
The diameter has no bearing on the output or effectiveness of the tube.
The new T5 lighting that is creating all the fuss is high output T5 lighting, and it is the high output part that really makes the difference - producing a light of much greater strength than a conventional tube, and as a result the energy input into the aquarium is greater.
Also, light diminishes very rapidly as it travels through water, but with high output T5 lamps, the effective distance is significantly greater than with conventional tubes, meaning that deeper aquariums can be maintained with an illumination that is effective to the base.

Aquaz T5-HO (High Output) flouorescent lamps are integrated with German advance phosphor technology.

These Tubes come in a variety of spectrums including -

5500K - Ideal for Refugiums, Coral Growing, Planted Aquariums, and Freshwater Aquariums


I want to make sure I do not make the light too bright for my discus, it concerns me it may be too bright> What are your thoughts on this? Kath

[waters10]

I want to make sure I do not make the light too bright for my discus, it concerns me it may be too bright> What are your thoughts on this? Kath
I just got my lighting and did a lot of research before buying it. But keep in mind I only have experience with one of the fixtures I mention here.

If you go T5HO or PC (power compact) route, keep in mind that reflectors make a big difference. I won't quote percentages, because it depends on who you ask, but they certainly make quite a difference. If you go PC, I'd look at the ahsupply retrofits (http://www.ahsupply.com/) (which means you have to install it in your hood). If you go T5HO, I'd look at Catalina (http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/) or fishneedit (http://www.fishneedit.com/). All these 3 have individual reflectors. If you decide to go T5NO (normal output), then I don't have any recommendation since I didn't do any research on those.

I went with Catalina, mainly because fishneedit only has 14k bulbs in stock right now. Fishneedit was my first choice based on what I read (mixed review but unbeatable price). I also decided for Catalina, because they have a 3x54W (54w are all 48") fixture, which means I can use 1 bulb only (2 bulbs in one bank and 1 bulb in the other bank) if I want to.

The only problem you might have with both catalina and fishneedit, is that they use legs to have the fixture higher up. So if you want to use that, you can't do that with the 48" fixtures on a 6ft tank. If you already have a hood, maybe ahsupply could be the better fit.

I still think T5HO is the way to go, just for the fact that they are a lot more efficient and I wanted to have wiggle room to go with higher tech in the future.

Hope this helps

[Patr1ck]

Absolutely. Wattage is only a measure of power used. More efficient bulbs use less wattage to produce more intensity/PAR/lumens. Compact fluorescents produce more light per watt than T8 or T12 bulbs, T5s produce more light per watt than CFs. Metal halides produce CRAZY amounts of light, and PAR, watt for watt, but recent data suggests that some MH lighting may actually be producing too much for many tanks, given the same standard 12 hour photoperiod.

Thanks, I have a similiar set up as Mr Wild. Mines 90 gallons and I have anubias and melon swords. I wanted to add a retrofit t5 HO kit to the underside of my hood. Would one 48" 2 bulb t5 HO setup do the trick?

Thanks again,
Pat

[KDodds]

Yeah, the 2x54W should be more than fine for a 90 with swords. Just don't plan on any outrageous growth. Oh, for Mr. Wild, that should be 2 2x39W fixtures, one on each side, the 3' T5s, not 2x54W, they're 4'.

[Mr Wild]

Oh thank you all this is getting clearer...haha punn...

Any way - I do not have a hood I only have the glass ontop of the tank. Would the 4ft t5s that have their own stand be too heavy to sit on the glass or would it be ok? Kath

[captain morgan]

I have the Catalina light your talking about, you would not want to place it directly on the glass top, it should be used with the legs so it has some air space beneath otherwise it will overheat itself and burn out the ballasts prematurely. Catalina also sells 6 foot fixtures that would accommodate your tank and then you could use the legs. PS. - I am very pleased with my lighting purchase from them.

[KDodds]

I'd go with one 72" unit or 2 36" units on a six foot tank. Personally, I run open-topped, so glass getting in the way has never been an issue. While I've used Catalina lights in the past (I have them on my 450 reef, in fact), be aware that they have an exceedingly poor reputation amongst marine aquarium keepers, especially in terms of poor product and poor customer service. While I have not had the "poor service" experience, I did have quite a few problems with my fixtures, since resolved, but should you really have problems with brand new fixtures? T5's BTW, are not heavy, they could sit on the glass, no problem, but should, as stated, be lifted to provide air circulation, lessening the risk of overheating.

[waters10]

I'd go with one 72" unit or 2 36" units on a six foot tank. Personally, I run open-topped, so glass getting in the way has never been an issue. While I've used Catalina lights in the past (I have them on my 450 reef, in fact), be aware that they have an exceedingly poor reputation amongst marine aquarium keepers, especially in terms of poor product and poor customer service. While I have not had the "poor service" experience, I did have quite a few problems with my fixtures, since resolved, but should you really have problems with brand new fixtures? T5's BTW, are not heavy, they could sit on the glass, no problem, but should, as stated, be lifted to provide air circulation, lessening the risk of overheating.
I have a very mixed experience with Catalina. I got my fixture last week and I asked a question to them through their website. I asked about moonlights and the bulbs available. They told me to add comments to my order at the checkout. So I placed the order, asked for moonlights and the bulbs of my choice. I ended up getting moonlights that are not dimmable (per their site they should be), no legs and the wrong bulbs ... So I sent them a very angry e-mail, which they replied within the hour saying they'd ship the correct bulbs and the legs.

Considering I'm very happy with the product, I'm getting the bulbs I wanted (And I'm keeping the two wrong ones they sent), I'm somewhat satisfied. I'd probably order again.

Two more things. Catalina has a great reputation on plantedtank.net. You'll only find glowing reviews there. One thing I notice on their product line, is that 48" fixture is the sweet spot for price, specially 2, 3 and 4 bulbs. So if you'll order 72" or 36", don't forget to check other brands, cause you might find a big difference in price.

[Mr Wild]

Oh thanks so much for the tip I will do! Need to still do some research here in Oz I may not be able to get what you can get but at least now I have more idea of what I need and what to ask for! Cheers to everyone who has helped me understand this area of fishkeeping it has helped! Cheers Kath

[Mr Wild]

Can you clilck on the link to check if I have this right? This is one I can get here in Oz, I will ask if they have the 6ft ones but first I want to be sure I am looking at the right thing.

http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.com.au/t5-florescent-light-fittings-supreme-aqua/4ft-double-t5-54w-high-output-aquarium-light/prod_14.html

Thanks in advance. Kath

[waters10]

Oh thanks so much for the tip I will do! Need to still do some research here in Oz I may not be able to get what you can get but at least now I have more idea of what I need and what to ask for! Cheers to everyone who has helped me understand this area of fishkeeping it has helped! Cheers Kath
I just now realized I was not replying to the OP! lol. So I guess my suggestions on brand might not be valid at all ... Sorry about that, to both of you.


Can you clilck on the link to check if I have this right? This is one I can get here in Oz, I will ask if they have the 6ft ones but first I want to be sure I am looking at the right thing.

http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.co...t/prod_14.html

Thanks in advance. Kath
That's a T5HO fixture. Same bulbs that Catalina and fishneedit fixtures I recommended. The only thing that's not clear on this fixture, is the reflector. It doesn't say individual reflectors, so it might not be optimized. The catalina/fishneedit reflectors are like this for 2 bulbs, but upside down: \_/\_/. It's unclear if the reflector you linked has that or something like this \__/. Although much better than no reflector, it's not the same as individual reflectors. And if you want to go higher-end, the tek fixtures for example, have reflectors with a lot more bends ...

[Mr Wild]

Oh dear yes! I have been asking so many questions on this site lately I had not realised I had hijacked this thread. My sincere apologies Pat.

I am sure I have enough information now. Thanks so much for all the information I will endeavor to do my best in the shopping arena.

Many thanks to all who contributed. Cheers Kath

[Patr1ck]

Oh dear yes! I have been asking so many questions on this site lately I had not realised I had hijacked this thread. My sincere apologies Pat.

Cheers Kath

No worries. I learned the same things right along with you?

Thanks everybody,

Pat